New Shun 1730

Although many aspirations of the lower classes will turn into nightmares in the future. But no matter what, the people of Songjiang Prefecture have different aspirations from before in the face of the new era, which is also good.

At least, this is no longer a lonely reincarnation of hundreds of years like a stagnant pool of water.

Liu Yu, who was secretly guiding all this in the back hall of the textile workshop at this time, was very clear about the suffering brought about by social changes and the extreme reactionary thoughts that were bound to appear in the special environment of Dashun, and even suffered so much that people might rather miss the reactionary feudal system of well fields.

But he didn't want to show too much compassion that was of no practical use, and he didn't ask the machine workers and weavers after visiting the machine owners.

After leaving the textile workshop, the group went to several places again.

After returning to the prefectural yamen and perfunctorily dealing with the gentry who were entangled in the issue of grain prices, it was time for people to return to Beijing and those who paid tribute to the capital.

Songjiang Prefecture Yin took out a practical attitude that Liu Yu admired very much, and explained two things to Liu Yu before leaving.

One is that if you really want to try out the one-tenth tax and reduce corvée and levies, please report it to the emperor after Liu Yu returns to Beijing. This matter is not convenient for him, the prefect of Songjiang Prefecture, to say.

Because, if you really want to do this, in other words, it means that the gentry will pay taxes and serve as officials. There are too many people to offend, and the prefect of Songjiang Prefecture feels that his small body can't bear it, and he dare not resist.

The other is Liu Yu's instructions on industry and commerce. The prefect of Songjiang Prefecture said that he has more or less known it. This does not require the court's explicit regulations, and the court is better not to explicitly stipulate how to deal with new conflicts between employers and employees.

He will take different countermeasures for different situations according to the examples given by Liu Yu.

Whether the prefect of Songjiang Prefecture is out of obedience to the will of the emperor; or the prefect of Songjiang Prefecture really has the heart for the country; or the prefect of Songjiang Prefecture is just a pure administrative bureaucrat. It doesn't matter what the starting point is, the key is to do it.

After saying the two things, Liu Yu was quite satisfied and praised a few words.

"This tax is increased to 10% and the lijia, service silver, and labor service are abolished. If the trial is successful, it will be a good thing for the country and the people. When I was in Wendeng in the past, the local governor Bai Yunhang also proposed the idea of ​​abolishing the head tax, and even promoted it, which was appreciated by His Majesty. Don't you really want to take this opportunity to be in the limelight?"

The face of the prefect of Songjiang changed slightly, and he shook his head and said: "Marquis Jing, are you joking with me? Abolishing the head tax and merging it into the land tax is not the same as abolishing miscellaneous services and increasing the main tax."

"The former was not first thought of by Bai Yunhang. Many years ago, Someone has raised this issue. Some people even said: The rich have fields stretching across the country, but they pay less tax on the head of the family, while the poor have no land to stand on, but they pay more silver. "

"How can there not be a few knowledgeable scholars in the court? Someone has long said that this tax method based on people is the most unfair. This is the case with the head tax and the salt tax. The poor and the rich pay the same amount. But one penny of silver is the same weight on the silver scale for the poor and one penny of silver for the rich, but it is not the same weight in the world."

"And even if the head tax is abolished and the land tax is added, the increase is not much, and if it is implemented, the pressure will not be too great. Big. "

"But doesn't the Whale Marquis really know what the cancellation of the miscellaneous taxes and the eleventh tax means? For small farmers and self-cultivators, the previous national taxes, apportionments, additional taxes, regular taxes, labor service, and silver taxes... all these, added together, are no less than the eleventh tax. But for the gentry, as long as they pay the national taxes, the burden is indeed very light. "

"Now if you want to change it like this, you will make enemies with the gentry of the world. Although I am willing to do things, I don't want to be ruined in this life. When the Whale Marquis returns to Beijing, why not ask Lord Bai, does he not have such insight? He does, but he knows what can be mentioned and what can be done. Can't mention it. "

"Marquis Jing is different. No matter how much slander there is in the world, as long as your majesty trusts you, who can move Marquis Jing? If one day... that... there are more slanders and attacks, or less slanders and attacks, it doesn't make any difference. "

Liu Yu laughed and said, "You are honest. OK, I know about this matter. You also know about the industrial and commercial matters. We know each other and get what we want. "

"Yes, although I don't understand everything, I understand a little bit. Marquis Jing can rest assured." Songjiang Prefecture Yin knew that Liu Yu was obsessed with industrial and commercial matters, and agreed repeatedly.

After explaining clearly, Liu Yu returned to the port, and the officials sent him off without mentioning it.

He and those tribute envoys from Southeast Asia did not take the same route. Although they all went to the capital, the naval officers who went to see the emperor took the sea route through Tianjin and returned directly to the capital; while those tribute envoys from Southeast Asia took the canal line and visited some wealthy cities on both sides of the canal along the way.

After a smooth journey, the ship docked at Dagukou, and a group of military officers who were going to Beijing to meet the emperor entered Beijing with Liu Yu. They were resting in the inn, and someone passed the emperor's oral order, asking Liu Yu to enter the Forbidden City and the emperor summoned him.

The capital was busy preparing for the "All Nations Come to Pay Homage" celebration at this time, and it was busy everywhere. The quietest place was the Forbidden City.

After bowing, Liu Yu was about to talk about Nanyang, but he didn't expect the emperor to ask about Nanyang, but asked: "I want to go on a tour from the canal to Songjiang in a few days. What do you think?"

Asking such a question all of a sudden seemed to have nothing to do with Nanyang, which made Liu Yu confused.

Just as he was about to answer, the emperor said, "I have thought about this for a long time, but I have never had the chance. Now that Nanyang has been settled, it seems that the world is peaceful and the territory has been expanded to thousands of miles, just as the Han and Tang dynasties were prosperous. However, although the external situation is prosperous, there are still many internal problems to be solved."

"One is the issue of canal shipping; the second is the issue of foreign trade; the third is the issue of Jiangnan industry and commerce; the fourth is the issue of raising funds to go abroad. I am also planning to go and see it myself. I may understand the people's sentiments, boost the confidence of merchants, or see the scenery of Jiangnan..."

"My dear, now that you have accomplished your great work, after the celebration and the pilgrimage of the Nanyang countries are over, you can follow me on a southern tour. When you arrive in Jiangnan, I feel that others are not capable of dealing with industry and commerce. My dear, you may as well take my treasury, stop the labor of the army, and make profits from trade. I want to do big things, but I am short of money. My dear, you are my right-hand man, and you must share my worries about this matter."

The matter of Nanyang has been discussed with the emperor countless times, and Liu Yu has been thinking about it for more than ten years. Going to Nanyang was a matter of planning before deciding. The expedition did not cost much and went smoothly.

As for the Dutch affairs, Duke Qi was still in The Hague or Amsterdam. There was no news now and it could not be settled in a short time.

In the eyes of the emperor, Nanyang was not the core of the Celestial Empire.

Even the reform of the land system in the southwest and the development of the western regions were slightly more important in the eyes of the emperor.

The emperor had three things in his attitude towards Nanyang: making money and letting poor people go to Nanyang to avoid rebellion; running away if they could not defend it in the future or there was a fierce resistance everywhere... If Junggar became strong, they might be afraid of another Tumu Fort; if Nanyang was in chaos, they could not fly across the sea. Since the emperor started to build a navy, he understood one thing: how could a small country afford a navy?

Now that the northwest is pacified, the northeast is stable, and Korea and Japan are honest, Nanyang can continue to be developed in the future, and many domestic issues must be resolved.

The top priority in the eyes of the emperor at this time is the grain transport.

He was determined to abolish the canal, whether it was because he thought the Huanghuai region had become a cancer of the empire, or because the losses along the way were too great, or in order to better manage the Yellow River... Of course, the most important reason was that the emperor felt that compared to the canal, the remaining things were more difficult than the other, so he would pick the softest ones first.

Dashun seemed strong, but the emperor knew that there were a lot of internal problems. Among these problems, the simplest one was actually the abolition of the canal and the sea, the million canal workers, and the management of the Huanghuai River...

Now that the South China Sea has been conquered and the navy has been established, the conditions have been met for sea transportation to replace the canal and the management of the Yellow River.

To change the canal, it is closely related to the Jiangnan region, because the canal is one of the foundations for connecting the north and the south and maintaining the unity of the empire. At least, before the complete abolition of the canal and the sea, this foundation is very important.

This was not a sudden idea of ​​his southern tour, he had it long ago, but the time was not ripe before. If he went before, it would be useless.

Liu Yu didn't know what to think of the emperor's idea. Seeing the emperor's reasons, Liu Yu asked, "Your Majesty, have you decided to abolish the canal and change to sea transport? Has this matter been discussed by the court?"

The emperor said, "It has not been discussed by the court yet. My dear minister, please keep it in mind and don't spread it. I had the intention to change to sea transport when the Jiangsu Jiedushi requested it. The Yellow River flood has always been a headache. To protect the Yellow River or the Grand Canal, it has been a headache. Since it is a headache, let's solve this problem. If we can't solve the Yellow River, then we can solve the Grand Canal."

"The hidden dangers of the country are not in the Yellow River and Huai River. However, when it comes to corruption, clerks, tenants, etc., or the affairs of landlords and farmers, Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong can't control it. Even if they do, it's like a wildfire that can't be put out. Even though the spring breeze has come again, no dynasty has been able to manage it clearly. I think we should first manage those that can be managed clearly. "

"I have seen and heard something at the Academy of Sciences. I originally wanted to abandon the canal transportation and build railways after the railway and steam car were available, so as to concentrate grain and facilitate the transportation of troops. However, I heard that it might take five or six years, or more than ten years, or even twenty or thirty years. I am afraid I can't wait."

"Let's not talk about the canal. You don't have to worry about it. Just manage the money for me. Since I went to Jiangnan, I can also be regarded as a platform for you. In Song and Su and other places, you just do things that have not been done before."

"I want money."

The emperor said it so bluntly that Liu Yu wanted to laugh but didn't dare to laugh.

The emperor had said so much, so he continued to talk to Liu Yu from the bottom of his heart.

"Nothing can be done without money. I have observed the politics of past dynasties, and each has its gains and losses. But there is really little to learn."

"The previous Ming Dynasty had an extremely poor treasury. Without money, many things cannot be done."

"In the previous Yuan Dynasty, the tax farming law would have caused chaos in the world."

"As for the Song Dynasty, many things were monopolized by the government, such as tea, salt, wine, horses, and cattle. Everything needed for people's livelihood was monopolized by the government. In addition, there were many craftsmen and there were also garrison troops. This dynasty cannot learn from them. If we learn, there will be chaos in the world."

"Going back further, as for Equal distribution of land and the same rank among the people, not to mention. "

"This dynasty has inherited many Ming systems, and the money in the treasury seems to be slightly more than that of the previous dynasty, but in terms of grain and rice, it is about the same. The price of silver is not the same as before the Westerners came to trade. But I also know that small Western countries now have tens of millions of annual incomes, and you are the one who understands Western affairs best. Whether it is the Netherlands or the British, they are all one province, one prefecture, and one state."

"I thought that you might have a way to get enough money with the land of three states and two prefectures."